With AGBU’s support, a celebration of the 60th anniversary of Aleppo’s AGBU Lazar Najarian-Calouste Gulbenkian school took place at Yerevan’s Arno Babajanian concert hall on December 5th. The ceremony was attended by the RA Deputy Minister of Diaspora Serzh Srapionyan, AGBU Central Board Member, AGBU Armenia and Middle East Coordinator Vasken Yacoubian, AGBU Interim Director Hovig Eordekian, almost 400 alumni, supporters and guests. The ceremony began with the performance of the hymns of the Republic of Armenia and AGBU performed by AGBU Scouts’ marching band.

FRENCH UNIVERSITY’S TOP 23 STUDENTS RECEIVE AGBU SCHOLARSHIPS

The graduation ceremony of the French University of Armenia (UFAR) took place on December 5th, at the Gabriel Sundukyan National Academy Theatre. 250 students from UFAR’s Management, Law and Marketing Departments received their undergraduate and graduate diplomas. The day was festive for both the students and guests with speeches by the President of the Board of Trustees of UFAR Arthur Baghdasaryan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France in Armenia Jean Francois Charpentier, Rector of the French University of Armenia Jean-Jacques Montois, Representative of the Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University Jacques Kombi and AGBU Central Board Member Vasken Yacoubian.

THE GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY OF THE CANDLE - LIGHTING CHAPEL AND PONTIFICAL MAUSOLEUM TOOK PLACE AT THE MOTHER SEE OF HOLY ETCHMIADZIN

On November 14, 2014 the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Candle-Lighting Chapel and Pontifical Mausoleum, being constructed next to the main Cathedral at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, took place under the presidency of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians and His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. The Candle Lighting Chapel is being constructed through the generous donation of the Mother See’s benefactors Mr. and Mrs. Karnig and Ani Yacoubian (USA).

AGBU ANNOUNCES ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH TEACH FOR ARMENIA

AGBU is proud to announce its partnership with Teach For Armenia, an initiative premised on the idea that every child deserves access to an excellent education. In honor of this new partnership, AGBU will host a series of lectures with founder and CEO Larisa Ryan on September 30 in Pasadena, October 2 in San Francisco, October 7 in New York and October 8 in Boston. The events are designed to inform the community about the state of education in Armenia and Teach For Armenia’s role in its development. Driven by a belief in pursuing innovative solutions to social problems, Teach For Armenia plans to recruit the best from Armenia and the Diaspora to teach in the Armenian educational system.

INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE

January 2014 saw the European Union’s education, youth, training and sport programs merged into one program: Erasmus. As part of the EU’s Erasmus+ student exchange program, Leo Legrange, a French corporation, implemented a new initiative aimed at promoting, strengthening and developing intercultural communications. Armenia was among the participating countries and the first visit of the program representatives took place on October 25th. During the course of one week, 16 young people from France, Latvia, Russia and Armenia worked on making culture more accessible to various elements of the general population. The host of the youth exchange program in Armenia was the AGBU.